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Memantine News
Study Produces Mixed Results on Alzheimer's Drugs
Posted 7 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, March 7 – A new study offers up mixed results about two medications used to treat the symptoms of the memory-robbing disease known as Alzheimer's. While patients didn't get a major mental boost when doctors added the drug Namenda to their regimen when they were already taking Aricept, they did find that continuing Aricept – a commonly prescribed drug for Alzheimer's in the United States – seemed to help. The results, which appear in the March 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, may seem a bit murky, especially because it's difficult to measure the effects of the drugs on day-to-day living. However, study author Dr. Robert Howard, a professor of old age psychiatry and psychopathology at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, said both drugs are worth taking, possibly even together. "While these drugs will not stop or slow down the tragic course of ... Read more
Related support groups: Alzheimer's Disease, Aricept, Namenda, Donepezil, Namenda XR, Memantine, Aricept ODT
Alzheimer's Med Seems Ineffective in Those With Down Syndrome
Posted 10 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Jan. 10 – A drug commonly used to treat patients with Alzheimer's disease does not appear to be effective for people older than 40 years who have Down syndrome and Alzheimer's, according to a new study. Although previous animal studies of the Alzheimer's drug, memantine, showed promising results in mice with Down syndrome, this new study of people with Down syndrome aged 40 and older revealed the opposite, the researchers reported in the Jan. 9 online edition of The Lancet. Memantine was given to 88 people with Down syndrome for one year, while another 85 patients received a placebo (the "control" group). Some of the participants had Alzheimer's and some didn't. The investigators found that the brain function of the people in both groups declined equally. Serious adverse effects were experienced by 11 percent of the group that took the medication. Meanwhile, 7 percent of the ... Read more
Related support groups: Down Syndrome, Alzheimer's Disease, Namenda, Namenda XR, Memantine
Drug Memantine Ineffective for Mild Alzheimer's, Study Finds
Posted 11 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, April 11 – A drug commonly prescribed for Alzheimer's disease, memantine (Namenda), appears to be ineffective in treating the mild stage of the disease, a new study finds. While some studies suggest the drug is effective in treating moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease, "in mild Alzheimer's disease there is a lack of evidence that it works," said lead researcher Dr. Lon S. Schneider, a professor of psychiatry, neurology and gerontology at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. Memantine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease – indicated in the U.S. by a score of 14 or less on a diagnostic test called the Mini-Mental State Examination – but it is often prescribed off-label for use in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. The drug belongs to a class of drugs called NMDA ... Read more
Related support groups: Alzheimer's Disease, Namenda, Namenda XR, Memantine
Forest and Merz Announce FDA Approval of Namenda XR for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type
Posted 22 Jun 2010 by Drugs.com
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 21, 2010 - Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH announced today that Namenda XR (memantine hydrochloride) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of the Alzheimer's type. Namenda XR is a 28 mg once-daily extended-release formulation of Namenda. The safety and efficacy of Namenda XR were established in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 677 outpatients already taking a cholinesterase inhibitor. The results indicate that patients treated with Namenda XR experienced statistically significant benefits in cognition and clinical global status compared to placebo. Namenda XR will be covered by U.S. Patent No. 5,061,703, which is listed in the Orange Book for Namenda and expires in April 2015. In addition, Forest owns pending patent applications related to ... Read more
Related support groups: Alzheimer's Disease, Namenda, Memantine
Addiction Meds May Help Gamblers
Posted 10 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Dec. 10 – Drugs used to treat substance addictions could prove effective in treating pathological gambling, U.S. researchers say. They tested medications designed to decrease urges and increase inhibitions in two groups of male and female pathological gamblers: those driven by urge (they gamble when the desire becomes too strong to control) and those who don't have normal inhibition of impulsive behaviors (they're unable to control the desire to gamble even when the urges are minimal or nonexistent). The first group – those driven by urge – responded well to medications that block the brain opioid system (such as naltrexone) or certain receptors for the neurotransmitter glutamate (such as memantine). Gamblers with a family history of the problem responded especially well to the opioid blocker, the study found. The second group – those unable to control any impulse to ... Read more
Related support groups: Namenda, Naltrexone, Vivitrol, Revia, Memantine
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